Discover Georgia's Macon County and City Parks - Check out the Flint River, Montezuma Bluff Wildlife Management Area, Massee Lane Gardens and the Whitewater Creek Park. Stay and Play in GA!
The Montezuma Bluff Wildlife Management Area is a 500 acre stand of relatively undisturbed mature hardwood forest. The damp, shady slopes sheer off in a 150-foot escarpment of eroded limestone to form a spectacular bluff overlooking a towering beechwood swamp. Boaters can enjoy magnificent views of the bluffs while exploring the swampy creeks and sandbars below. Trails are open only to foot traffic.
Visitors can see 50 million year old fossilized limestone encrusted with ancient sea shells from the Tallahatta Formation marine ecosystem. Every spring hikers enjoy a stunning display of one of the state's largest populations of rare relic trillium. The endangered blossoms are clustered among fossils and other protected plant species. They reach for the sun through a blanket of leaves beneath the branches of old-growth beech and magnolia.
A shady walking trail weaves along a ridge through wildflowers, palmettos and moss draped hardwoods. Two viewing decks are nestled above expansive vistas and offer birdwatchers refuge to see soaring hawks, woodpeckers, herons and flocks of migratory species. Climb the dry bluffs and watch for sparkleberry, yucca, mountain catchfly and shortleaf pine.
The dry slopes are habitat for the southern ringneck snake, gray rat snake, tiger salamander, marbled salamander and broadhead skink. White-tailed deer, boar, wild turkeys, squirrels and quail forage the slopes and fox and raccoon dens are buried among the rocky bluffs. Rattlesnakes nest in the rock crevices and sun on limestone outcroppings.
DirectionsTraveling on I-75 South, take Exit 149 at Byron for Georgia Highway 49 South. Go through Ft. Valley and Marshallville, then travel approximately 11 miles (watch for Brown’s Farm Market and U-Pick Flowers) and turn right on Crooks Landing Road. Go less than one mile and park on the right at the top of the hill for the main trail and an information kiosk. The Wildlife Management Area is on both sides of the road. To reach the boat ramp, go down the hill and turn right, then left.
Flint River offers many recreational opportunities to visitors. Boating and fishing enthusiasts can choose from two accessible public access boat ramps. Location: Hooks Landing between Oglethorpe and Montezuma on Highway 49. and Crooks Landing between Montezuma and Marshallville on Highway 49.
Massee Lane Gardens is the home of the American Camellia SocietyHere you can visit elegant gardens and a gallery containing over 150 Boehm porcelain sculptures. Admission is $5. Members are admitted free of charge. Address: 100 Massee Lane, Fort Valley, Georgia 31030
Whitewater Creek Park - Enjoy Macon County's Whitewater Creek Park. RV hookups and campsites are available. Location: on Georgia Highway 128 just north of Oglethorpe.
